cj#357 The U.N.

Dear CJ,
Below is a call to revitalize the U.N. Do you think the U.N. is
salvagable? Does it have a useful role to play? For who's benefit? Is it
hopelessly enslaved to G7 interests?
Regards,
rkm
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995
>From: Rich Winkel <•••@••.•••>
Organization: PACH
Subject: Report on Remaking UN Peacekeeping
To: Multiple recipients of list ACTIV-L <•••@••.•••>
** Written 9:34 AM Dec 11, 1995 by newsdesk in cdp:headlines **
From: IGC News Desk <•••@••.•••>
/* Written 10:32 AM Dec 7, 1995 by ncecd in igc:econ.conversio */
Report Sets Agenda For Remaking U.N. Peacekeeping
U.N. peacekeeping operations, which have been engaged in salvaging peace
out of threats of war since the U.N. was founded, are now in need of a
rescue operation of their own.
Although the demands on U.N. peacekeeping have increased in the
post-Cold War period, Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali announced this
month that the funding crisis is forcing him to scale back these
operations drastically. Meanwhile here at home, while the broad
legislative attack on the U.N. appears to have been beaten back, in this
session at least, the Republican Congress is still considering
restricting the U.S. role in specific missions, notably in Bosnia. And
while Congress and the Administration are negotiating a deal to pay the
U.S.'s debt to the U.N., the strings attached may tie the hands both of
U.S. participation and of the U.N. itself.
Whatever the results of these negotiations, they won't be enough to put
this embattled institution on a firm footing. Without substantial
reform and a strengthened institutional support structure, it is
programmed to fail. There is an urgent need to shift the policy
discussion beyond the immediate crisis and examine seriously the
conditions under which U.N. peacekeeping can actually be expected to
succeed.
To focus and inform that discussion, international security expert and
Worldwatch Institute senior researcher Michael Renner has written
_Remaking U.N. Peacekeeping: U.S. Policy and Real Reform_. In addition
to analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of peacekeeping operations
thus far and of U.S. policy toward them, this report provides a
comprehensive set of recommendations for short- medium- and long-term
reforms that could bridge the gap between the prescriptions for current
crisis management and the vision of a fully capable post-Cold War U.N.
peacekeeping system.
The report is published by the National Commission for Economic
Conversion & Disarmament. To see an executive summary of the report, go
to http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/ncecd/reports/un.html
The Commission's home page is at http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/ncecd/
"During the U.N. 50th anniversary celebrations, political leaders from
around the world exhorted the U.N. to 'reinvent itself,' " Renner said.
"It is timeopast timeoto take this charge out of the realm of the
rhetorical flourish and put it into practice. Let this report serve as
a working agenda for doing so."
** End of text from cdp:headlines **
***************************************************************************
This material came from PeaceNet, a non-profit progressive networking
service. For more information, send a message to •••@••.•••
***************************************************************************
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@